A Wad of Nothing
by Woofemus
Summary: Maki should have known, from the moment Nozomi appeared in front of them with that look in her eyes, that she was entirely up to trouble. Unfortunately, it didn't help that Hanayo had yet to pick up on that.


just maki being a huge dork, that's it.

* * *

"Maki-chan, Hanayo-chan, we need your help with something," Nozomi had said with an innocent look on her face, with just the right amount of concern. Maki could already see it working with Hanayo, eyes slightly wide and lips pushed together in worry. "Nico-chan and Rin-chan are arguing about costume designs and they need your help."

"... really." Maki was skeptical, crossing her arms with a wary look. "Are you _sure_ you're just not trying to get us to go with you somewhere?" Nozomi feigned a look of hurt at her words but there was still no hiding that amused glint in her eyes.

"Jeez, Maki-chan, I accidentally lock you in the closet _one_ time and you-"

"You pushed me in with Hanayo and what do you mean _accidentally?!_ "

"-and suddenly you can't trust me anymore. I'm so hurt," Nozomi finished with a pout, ignoring the fact that she was interrupted. Maki only gave her sneer and was about to continue with a retort when a tug on her sleeve pulled her attention away.

"U-um..." Hanayo looked between the both of them hesitantly. "It... it wouldn't hurt to go have a peek if Rin-chan and Nico-chan need our help, would it, Maki-chan?" She smiled anxiously up at her, and Maki felt her face warming. Nonono, this was _exactly_ what Nozomi wanted, and Maki had to hold strong, for the both of them. Nozomi was devious, using innocent Hanayo like this against Maki, but today, Maki would put her foot down and-

Hanayo's smile became uneasy, glancing away from them now. "O-oh, um, I... I guess-"

"... fine! Whatever, let's just get this over with," Maki snapped, pointedly ignoring Nozomi's knowing look. "I mean, let's... let's go," she mumbled afterward, awkwardly trying to smile at Hanayo to show she didn't mean anything by her earlier outburst. Hanayo only nodded in return, slightly embarrassed at the way Nozomi was smiling in that secretive way of hers at the two of them.

... and once again, as Maki had expected, she found herself in yet another trap. The moment they entered the classroom Nozomi had gestured to, the door slammed shut behind them. When Maki whipped her head to the other door of the classroom, she could see a flash of orange before that door also slammed shut.

"... _of course_ it's locked," she muttered afterward as she tried to pull the door open. She quickly moved to the other door although the same result awaited her. Sighing to herself, she glanced around. Hanayo was still staring at the other door, trying to pull it open. Maki was about to help her when something caught her attention.

There was a conspicuous piece of paper laying on one of the desks. Maki swiped it up quickly before Hanayo could notice, glancing down at it, feeling nothing but dread as soon as she recognized Nozomi's scrawl.

' _You know, putting you in that closet was something the cards told me to do (and definitely not something I came up with) and well, even the fact nothing happened was all in the cards too, don't worry. But if only Hanayo-chan knew about how much you wanted to be alone with her! Have no fear though, that's why I'm here! To give my adorable and cute juniors all the help they need! Because you're way too hardheaded for your own good, Maki-chan.'_

 _'I mean, the cards told me to do it.'_

It took _all_ of Maki's self-control to not rip the paper to shreds at that moment. She forced herself to continue reading, hoping there was a point to all of this.

 _'At least you have all this wide space instead of that cramped little closet, although I think I prefer the closet, sometimes less space is nice, you know what I mean? I'm sure Elichi agrees with me too.'_

 _'Just saying.'  
_

Maki sputtered and quickly slapped her face to keep from imagining Eli and Nozomi stuck in a closet. The worst part was that she didn't even need to _imagine_ what they were clearly up to. However much Nico tried to protect and salvage their innocence by trying to supervise Nozomi and Eli, she wasn't around _all_ the time, as Maki had learned the hard way.

 _'Oops, almost got off track. Anyway, instead of trying to figure out how to get out, here's some other ideas on what you can do instead because you desperately need help. I hope you have a **fun** time!'  
_

 _'P.S. Rin also helped me with drawing._ '

 _'P.S. Tell me everything later or I'll ask Hanayo-chan instead'_

Underneath the words were crudely drawn pairs of stick figures in odd positions (and a disfigured cat in the middle trying to play cards for whatever reason.) Maki squinted at them confusedly, trying to make sense of them. One depiction had what looked like a stick figure putting their hand against a wall and trapping another stick figure with a small caption underneath: _Hanayo-chan would probably like it if you were a little more forward_ -

She choked, clenching her hands and loudly wrinkling the paper once she realized _exactly_ what they were depicting. Her eyes roamed over the rest of the paper, eyes bulging when she realized that _yes,_ Nozomi managed to cover _all_ her bases. Even though the drawings were absolutely _horrendous_ _,_ once Maki had realized what they were trying to show, her mind was already beginning to wander, playing out each scenario with her and Hanayo-

"M-Maki-chan, is something wrong? Are you okay?" Hanayo's voice thankfully snapped her out of her imagination. Except it also made her remember _Hanayo_ was also in the same room and suddenly the wide expanse of the classroom didn't seem so spacious anymore.

"N-n-n-nothing!" she squeaked in a painfully high voice, choking again afterward, darting her eyes all over as she tried to figure out how to hide Nozomi's note.

"Maki-chan!" Hanayo rushed over, even more worried now.

Maki began to panic, becoming even more frantic. If there was something she never wanted Hanayo to ever see, _this_ was it. She didn't need to know the depths of Nozomi's lecherous mind ( _no one_ had to. Except Eli.) And now, she had to figure out how to hide the note without Hanayo noticing. Ripping it was too obvious, and maybe Hanayo would gather all the shreds when Maki wasn't looking and take it home and put it together coherently somehow and then her innocence would be gone forever. Even if the whole thing sounded impossible, there was _no way_ Maki was taking that risk.

As Hanayo's footsteps rang louder and louder, her mind instantly settled on one solution, the only one she could think of right now. She furiously crumpled the paper into a ball as quick she could and stuffed it into her mouth.

She spun around afterward, trying to smile but it came out like an awkward grimace instead. Though her mind raced, she refused to think about what was inside her mouth. _Think about anything except that, think about Nozomi and Eli- **stop** , what the hell, that's even worse._

"Um, Maki-chan? Your face is red. Are you okay?" Hanayo stood in front of her with her hand raised, looking at her worriedly.

She shook her head. She struggled to keep her face blank when she realized the motions made the wad of paper in her mouth move around. Hanayo continued to peer at her oddly, frowning.

"Is... is there something in your mouth?" She looked all around them. "Were there snacks somewhere? What was that sound I heard earlier?" Maki shook her head again (and almost gagged) before shrugging her shoulders. She glanced away, hoping the other girl didn't notice the sweat rolling down her face. "Maki-chan, are you sure you're okay? You don't look alright. Maybe you should lay down?" She smiled reassuringly. "It doesn't like they'll let us out soon so, um, i-if you need to rest, you can use me as a pillow!" She even patted her legs for good measure and Maki couldn't help but shoot her eyes down to them, follow every tempting motion.

Maki felt all of her resolve shattering in that moment.

 _Almost_ all of it though _,_ when she remembered _why_ she couldn't open her mouth to answer in the first place. As it was, all she managed for an answer were incoherent sounds of anger at the back of her throat, shaking her head furiously. The suspicious reply made Hanayo look at her strangely again. Hanayo stepped closer. Maki stepped back.

"... Maki-chan?" Seeing that she had no other choice, Maki began to wave her hands frantically, pointing to the door, _hoping_ for Hanayo to get the hint. "Huh? There's something at the door?" Shooting Maki an uneasy glance, she walked off to inspect the door again.

Maki snapped her head to the windows, wondering if she could chance spitting it out there. But wait, that meant someone might possibly find it and open it, however disgusting it would have been. She wasn't risking that either. And that also ruled the trashcans out, she couldn't trust anyone to leave it alone. What she needed was for this incriminating piece of paper to be utterly erased from existence. That could only mean... in this current moment...

With her tongue, she pushed the paper ball away from her throat before swallowing carefully, the realization beginning to creep into her. She looked out the window with a blank face, resigning herself to her fate.

Maki wondered how much it would hurt if she threw herself out the window.


End file.
